Some of the Neighbours team have responded to unfavourable comparisons to The Heights.
The Heights, a new 30-part serial drama, began in Australia today (February 22), leading to comparisons to Neighbours (it even stars Saskia Hampele, who played Georgia Brooks on Ramsay Street).
The new soap has been praised as a more progressive and diverse alternative to Neighbours and Home and Away, but it has also been pointed out that Neighbours features David, Leo, Dipi, Yashvi, and Kirsha among its regulars.
"I am already furious about the way the show is being written off," Neighbours scriptwriter Sarah Mayberry wrote on Twitter. "The implication that we did our first LGBTQI story last year is so wide off the mark, I can't even.
"The Heights will live or die on its own merits, and it will be built on the platform created by Neighbours and Home and Away, and it will benefit from the vast pool of talented writers that Neighbours and Home and Away have produced over the years.
Mayberry added: "Let's not forget that the Neighbours story room model has been exported to countless countries and resulted in long-running local dramas that transmit local culture to their viewerships.
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"As I said, the show is not perfect, but it's not deserving of dismissive contempt."
Meanwhile, story editor Shane Isheev also took issue with a comment made by Heights star Roz Hammond, who said (via TV Tonight): "It's a serial drama not soap because I think the production values and the writing are so much greater than that."
Shane tweeted in response: "Sick of 'soap' being a dirty word. The writers on #TheHeights also work on #Neighbours and #HomeAndAway. And our production values are amazing.
"I look forward to The Heights & hope it does well. Not only because of its diversity, but our industry deserves another long-running SOAP."
The Heights co-creator Warren Clarke said: "We are proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with the long tradition of Australian soaps. If we could be as loved as Neighbours #SeriesGoals."
Neighbours airs weekdays at 1.45pm and 5.30pm on Channel 5 (UK) and 6.30pm on 10 Peach (Australia).
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